Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-08-27


q gray haired angular man with kindly face
and red Checks; u hope see you very we'll.
lily natives told me an hour ago thoy spied
two canoes with white men In them coming
up the river; 80 we have just come down to
meet your
"And ID Is very glad that we are to see a
white face again, let me tell YOU" put In the
lAdy-a charming and refined looking person.
We took of our hats IN acknowledgment,
nnd proceeded to introduce ourselves.
@And now" said Mr. Mackenzie, "you must
oil DO hungry and weary; so come on, gentle
men, come on, end right glad we are TO sec
YOU Tho last white that visited us was AL
phonse-you win 500 Alphonse presently and
tlat was year ago"
Meanwhile we bad been walking up the slope
OF the hill, che lower portion of which was
fenced off, sometimes with ounce fences and
sometimes witl rough stone walls, into Kafir
gardens, just now full OF crops Of mealies,
pumnlSla> pntat9es etc In the corners OF
ileSo gardenss1erp groups OF neat mushroom
shaped huts, occupied by Mr.. Mackenze's
mission natives, whose women and children
came pouring out to meet us as we walked.
Through the center Of the gardens ran the
roadway up which wo were walking. 1t was
bordered on each side by line of orange
trees, which, although they had only been
planted ten years, had In the lovely climate
OF tho uplands below Mt. Kenia. the base Of
which Is about 5000 feet above the coast line
level, already grown to imposing proportions,
and were positively laden with golden fruit.
After stitish climb Of quarter Of mile or
eo--for the hillside was steep-we came to
splendid ounce fence, also covered with
fruit, which inclosed, Mr.. Mackenzie told us,
a space Of about four acres Of ground that
contained his private garden, house, church
and cutbuildings, and, indeed, tho whole hill
top. And what garden Il was have al
ways loved q good garden, and could have
thrown up my hands for j,y when saw Mr.
Mackenzie's. First therS wero rows upon
rows of standard Europ an fruit trees, all
grated; for OH the top Of this hill the climate
was SO temperate that very nearly all the
English vegetables, trees and flowers flour
ished luxuriantly. even including several va
rieties Of tho apple, which, generally speak
ing, runs to wood In warm climate and
obstinately declines to fruit Then there
wero strawberries and tomatoes (such toma-
toesD and melons and cucumbers, and indeed
every sort Of vegetable end fruit
swell, you have something like gardenl"
I said, overpowered with admiration not un-
touched by envy.
eyes," answered the missionary, ait is
very good garden, md has well repaid my
labor; but it Is tho climate that have to
thank. II you stick peach stone into the
ground it viii bear fruit the fourth year, and
n rose cutting will bloom in year. 1t is a
lovely cline"
Just then we came to ditch about ten feet
widc and full Of water, on tho other side Of
which was loopholed stone wall eight feet
high, and with sharp flints pientifully set in
mortar OH the coping.
"There," said Mr. Mackenzie, pointing to
tho ditch and wall, @tais is my magnum opus;
at least, this and the church. which is the
other side Of the house. Il took me and
twenty natives two years to dig tho Glitch and
build tho wall, but never felt safe till it was
done; and now can defy all the savages in
Africa, for tho spring that fills the ditch Is
inside the wall, and bubbles ols ct the top Of
tho hill winter and summer alike, and al
ways Keep store OF four months provisions
in tho house."
Crossing over plan.: and through very
narrow opening in tho wall, we entered into
what Mrs. Mackenzie called her domain
namely, tae flower garden, ths beauty Of
which il Is really beyond my power to do.
scribe. leo not think / ever saw such roses,
gardenias, o: camsllias tail reared from seeds
Or cuttings sent from England; and there
was also patch given up to collection, of
dubious roots, mostly collected by Miss Flos-
sic, Mr., Maciienze's little daughter, from the
country, some OF which were
beautiful. In the middle Of this
GARDEN and exactly opposite tho veranda,
beautiful fountain Of clear water bnbbled up |
from tho ground, and fell into o stone work |
basin which had been carefully built to re- |
;eive IT, whence the overflow found its way |
~ means of drain to the moat round the |
outer WALL this moat III its turn serving as d |
whence en- unfailing supply of |
water was available to irrigate all the gar
lens below The house itself, massively |
quilt single storied building, was rooted with
labs Of stone, and had handsome veranda
n front. It was built on three sides of a
square, the fourth side being taken up by the
kitchens, which stood separate from the house
"a very good plan in hot country In the
enter of this square thus formed was, perhaps,
lie most remarkable object that we had yet
cen in this charming place, and that was a
inglo treo Of the confer tribe, varieties Of
which grow freely on the highlands of this
part Of Africa. This splendid tree, which Mr..
Mackenzie informed us was a landmark for
fifty miles round, and which we had ourselves
zen for the last forty miles of our journey,
must have been some 800 feet in height, the
runk measuring about 16 feet in diameter at
yard from the ground. For some seventy
eet it rose beautiful tapering brown pillar
without single branch, but at that height
plendid dark green boughs, which, looked at
rom below, had the appearance of gigantic
ern leaves, sprang out horizontally from the
runk, projecting right over the house and
lower garden, to both of which they fur
lished a grateful proportion of shade, with
SO high up-offering any impedi-
nent to the passage of light and air.
"What beautiful treel" exclaimed Sir
Henry.
ayes, you arc right; it is beautiful tree.
There Is not another like it in all the country
ound that know Of, answered Mr.. Mac
.enzie. u call it my watch tower. As you
ZEE, l have rope ladder fixed to the lowest
,ough, and il / want to see anything that is
soing on within fifteen miles or so, all ] have
o do is to run up it with spyglass. But you
must be hungry, and I am sure the dinner is
cooked. Como In, my friends; IL is but
'ouph placa hut well anouc,h for these savare